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Resident coalition delivers petition calling for stronger enforcement, gates and traffic calming at Gene Clark Park
Summary
A neighborhood coalition told the committee that after-hours reckless driving, drag racing and firearms at Gene Clark Park have made the park unsafe; it delivered a petition (about 170 signatures) asking the city to enforce a 10 p.m. closing, restore vehicle control, install traffic calming and update park signage.
During public comment at the July 8 meeting, Jacqueline Elliott, a founding member of the Gene Clark Neighborhood Coalition, urged the committee to take four specific actions to make Gene Clark Park safer: enforce the park’s 10 p.m. closing by closing the front gate, repair or reinstall after-hours vehicle-control spikes or a gate at the exit, install traffic-calming measures to curb reckless driving and update park signage in chapter 28 so rules are clear and enforceable.
Elliott said local residents had documented large numbers of after-hours incidents — including drag racing and firearms — and that the coalition counted some 79 cleared 911 calls tied to the park over the past 14 months. She also said about 170 people had signed the petition on Change.org and asked for follow-up on the four items.
Commissioners thanked the speaker and asked staff for updates. The city manager said the city is still obtaining legal opinion on some of the items (some rules date to 2008) and that staff would follow up with an update; commissioners also requested that the clerk forward the petition and contact information for coalition members to the full commission. Multiple commissioners and the manager reiterated that safety and stewardship across all city parks are priorities but noted funding and legal constraints in implementing some remedies.
Elliott’s petition and the request for concrete next steps prompted the committee to record the petition and ask staff to return with timelines and legal guidance.
